EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: The Marquess of Blandford throws ‘tarts and vicars’ birthday party

The Marquess of Blandford has always seemed very sensible compared with his once-decadent father Jamie, the Duke of Marlborough, who blew £20,000 on cocaine in four months during his hell-raising past.

Nevertheless, the Marquess, George, 25, whose family seat is Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, enjoys letting his hair down once in a while.

For the 31st birthday of his fiancee, interior designer Camilla Thorp, the aviation broker threw a ‘tarts and vicars’ party in Hampshire.

Camilla (third from left) wore lacy underwear, while her similarly attired chums included Ella May Sangster (second from right), granddaughter of the late billionaire horse racing magnate Robert Sangster.

The Marquess of Blandford, 25, threw interior designer Camilla Thorp a ‘tarts and vicars’ party in Hampshire for her 31st

Among the ‘vicars’ (above) were the Marquess (fourth from left) and Mylo Sangster, Ella May’s brother (pictured in a wig, far right).

George and Camilla, the future Duke and Duchess of Marlborough, announced their engagement last autumn. The wedding could be a very lively affair, judging by these pictures.

‘I work in insurance, which is quite a serious job,’ George once told me.

‘So it’s important to let off steam.’

While she may not yet be on a par with her supermodel little sister Cara, Poppy Delevingne’s fortune is still on the rise. 

The socialite’s bank account stands at more than £650,000 in cash, according to newly published accounts for her company, Poppy Delevingne Ltd, into which she deposits her modelling earnings. 

Property developer’s daughter Poppy, 31, has also managed to retain £544,000 in profit in the business, despite enjoying dividend payouts.

The smart set’s talking about… Superdry boss’s new fiancee 

When Jade Holland Cooper presented the Leading Jockey Award on Gold Cup Day at last month’s Cheltenham Festival, the fashion designer cemented her place in society.

And soon, she might have the cash to support her new, elevated status.

For the word among the tweedy set is that the 31-year-old farmer’s daughter from Suffolk has become engaged to Julian Dunkerton, 52, the craggy co-founder of fashion brand Superdry, which boasted a turnover of more than £750 million in 2017.

While both declined to comment, it would be a marriage of money and social connections. Privately educated Jade (right), who made her demure public debut on Country Life’s ‘Girl in Pearls’ page, has built a loyal following for her label, Holland Cooper. 

Jade Holland Cooper, from Suffolk, has become engaged to Julian Dunkerton, 52, the craggy co-founder of fashion brand Superdry, which boasted a turnover of more than £750 million in 2017

Jade Holland Cooper, from Suffolk, has become engaged to Julian Dunkerton, 52, the craggy co-founder of fashion brand Superdry, which boasted a turnover of more than £750 million in 2017

It sells trendy rural gear to clients ranging from the Queen’s granddaughter, Zara Phillips, to I’m A Celebrity . . . winner Georgia Toffolo.

Divorcee Dunkerton, who owns a string of hotels and restaurants in the Cotswolds, could give her label a major cash injection. Worth an estimated £366 million, he recently quit Superdry’s board to devote more time to his charity and catering.

Jade’s pals are pleased her love life is on the up. She suffered heartbreak when her long-term relationship ended with Henry Crudge, a farmer she met while studying at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester.

My advice to Dunkerton is: stay on the right side of Jade’s father, Oliver. He was once accused of hitting one of her female customers who had allegedly refused to pay a bill of nearly £7,000. He denied the claim.

Earl’s widow cuts tie with former home 

The Countess of St Germans once memorably persuaded Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese to take charge of a four-night film season at the Port Eliot Festival held at the idyllic Cornish estate of her husband, the 10th Earl.

But less than two years after the Earl died at the age of 75, the Countess, Cathy, has written herself out of the script at the fashionable festival.

I can reveal that Cathy, 48, has resigned as a director of the event she did so much to organise each July, when the 124-room house and 4,000-acre estate are thrown open to visitors. ‘Cathy has left the team,’ confirms a festival spokesman. ‘She decided it was time to move on.’

Cathy had to leave Port Eliot last autumn to make way for her husband’s grandson, Albert, known as Albie, who became the 11th Earl of St Germans at just 11.

Sadly, Lady St Germans’ departure from the Grade I-listed stately home and gardens came amid great acrimony.

Albert’s mother, Bianca, an ex-model and former fiancee of Earl Spencer, was worried that, among the furniture and other possessions being taken away in a fleet of removals vehicles, were heirlooms that should have remained at Port Eliot for Albie. However, the removal had the agreement of the trustees.

Hotelier Sir Rocco Forte’s daughter Irene was devastated when she split up with her long-term boyfriend, the polo-playing socialite Jacobi Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe.

Happily, the Oxford graduate, 29, who works at her family’s £340 million hotel empire, has found love again, with tech whizz Felix Winckler. 

Winckler, 38, the son of a leading Brussels lawyer, is no stranger to society romances, having previously courted Princess Caroline of Monaco’s daughter Charlotte Casiraghi.

Hotelier Sir Rocco Forte’s daughter Irene was devastated when she split up with her long-term boyfriend, the polo-playing socialite Jacobi Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe

Happily, the Oxford graduate, 29, who works at her family’s £340 million hotel empire, has found love again, with tech whizz Felix Winckler.

Sir Rocco Forte’s daughter Irene has found love again, with tech whizz Felix Winckler. Winckler, 38, the son of a leading Brussels lawyer, is no stranger to society romances, having previously courted Princess Caroline of Monaco’s daughter Charlotte Casiraghi

‘Things are getting serious,’ says a pal. ‘They went on holiday to India recently and he already gets on well with her sister, Lydia.’

Lydia, 31, is married to Greek shipping heir Dimitri Chandris.

Their Tuscan wedding was one of the society events of 2016, with guests including Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

An ebullient hedge fund tycoon tried on pair after pair of jeans in a Chelsea emporium while wearing no underpants and not having bathed for a week — only to return each item unbought.



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